English pubs and shops gear up for Euro 2024 final bonanza

LONDON : English pubs, supermarkets and restaurants are set for a weekend bonanza as fans prepare to tune in to watch England play Spain in the final of the Euro 2024 soccer championship in Germany and before that the Wimbledon tennis men's singles final in London.

The events will provide a much-needed fillip to the hospitality and retail sector after wet weather meant a subdued start to summer trading.

Items from beer, wine and snacks, barbecue food and pizzas to large screen TVs and England shirts, are being snapped up ahead of the major sporting weekend, supermarkets Tesco, Sainsbury's and Asda said and data from Adobe showed.

Sainsbury's, Britain's No. 2 grocer, forecast weekend beer sales would increase 200 per cent year-on-year, with sales of sparkling wine and ready-to-drink cocktail cans both up 30 per cent.

Britain's third-biggest supermarket Asda has sold over 20,000 large screen ultra-high-definition TVs during Euro 2024, with more sales expected ahead of Sunday, it said after England beat the Netherlands 2-1 in the semi-final on Wednesday thanks to a dramatic last minute winner.

England face Spain on Sunday for a chance to become the first England men's team to win a major tournament since the 1966 World Cup and the first on foreign soil.

A spokesperson for JD Sports said its England merchandise sales jumped over six-fold for the semi-final, having already risen by almost three times around last Saturday's quarter final victory on penalties against Switzerland.

Data from Adobe forecast England fans' spending on team merchandise will have spiked by as much as 1,500 per cent above normal levels the day after the semi-final.

British pubs and bars are set for a 120 million pound ($155 million) sales boost from the